Great Britain, normally our staunch ally in the war on terror has apparently become the front line of the war of appeasement and Dhimmitude.

First I saw this story about British Courts allowing Sharia law to prevail.  I was initially appalled, though further reading about the details makes this less of a dangerous precedent then the headline implies:

Sharia law SHOULD be used in Britain, says UK’s top judge

The most senior judge in England yesterday gave his blessing to the use of sharia law to resolve disputes among Muslims.

Lord Chief Justice Lord Phillips said that Islamic legal principles could be employed to deal with family and marital arguments and to regulate finance.

He declared: ‘Those entering into a contractual agreement can agree that the agreement shall be governed by a law other than English law.’

The key here is by “contractual agreement”, apparently.  In other words, if the parties agree, then that is acceptable.  I personally don’t have an issue with that, in principle, as the same courtesy is extended to other faiths, such as the Beth Din courts for Orthodox Jews, and the Church of England consistory Courts and Tribunals.

In fact, the Church of England courts and tribunals have the force of law, which none of the others do.

Two minor worries persist however.  First, Sharia law permits polygamy, which is otherwise banned.  Is this a back door to practical acceptance?  And second, will the woman in the Burka be given a chance to fair chance to accept judgment this way, or will she be governed by her husband per Sharia law?

Robert Whelan, of the Civitas think tank, said: ‘Everybody is governed by English law and it is not possible to sign away your legal rights. That is why guarantees on consumer products always have to tell customers their statutory rights are not affected.

‘There is not much doubt that in traditional Islamic communities women do not enjoy the freedoms that they have had for 100 years or more in Britain.

‘It is very easy to put pressure on young women in a male-dominated household. The English law stands to protect people from intimidation in such circumstances.’

Opponents say:

Barrister and human rights specialist John Cooper said: ‘There should be one law by which everyone is held to account.

‘Well-crafted laws in this country, drawn up to protect both parties including the weak and vulnerable party in matrimonial break-ups, could be compromised.’

While some supporters say:

Resolution, the organisation of family law solicitors, said people should govern their lives in accordance with religious principles ‘provided that those beliefs and traditions do not contradict the fundamental principle of equality on which Britain’s laws are based.’

Spokesman Teresa Richardson said religious law ‘must be used to find solutions which are consistent with the basic principles of family law in this country and people must always have redress to the civil courts where they so choose.’

Time will certainly tell.

Then I saw this story:

Sniffer dogs to wear ‘Muslim’ bootees

Police sniffer dogs will have to wear bootees when searching the homes of Muslims so as not to cause offence. 

Guidelines being drawn up by the Association of Chief Police Officers (Acpo) urge awareness of religious sensitivities when using dogs to search for drugs and explosives. The guidelines, to be published this year, were designed  to cover mosques but have been extended to include other buildings.

Now, this part amuses me (emphasis mine):

Where Muslims object, officers will be obliged to use sniffer dogs only in exceptional cases. Where dogs are used, they will have too wear bootees with rubber soles. “We are trying to ensure that police forces are aware of sensitivities that people can have with the dogs to make sure they are not going  against any religious or cultural element within people’s homes. It is being addressed and forces are working towards doing it,” Acpo said.

So let me get this straight.  The police suspect you of having bomb making materials.  But they can’t bring in the bomb dogs unless its an exceptional case, and if you object the dogs have to wear booties?

Seriously?  This was on the heels of this:

Problems faced by the use of sniffer dogs were highlighted last week when Tayside police were forced to apologise for a crime prevention poster featuring a german shepherd puppy, in response to a complaint by a Muslim councilor.

You have to be kidding me!

Not all Muslims are hung up on this:

Ibrahim Mogra, one of Britain’s leading imams, said the measures were unnecessary: “In Islamic law the dog is not regarded as impure, only its saliva is. Most Islamic schools of law agree on that. If security measures require to send a dog into a house, then it has to be done. I think Acpo needs to consult better and more widely.

“I know in the Muslim community there is a hang-up against dogs, but this is cultural. Also, we know the British like dogs; we Muslims should do our bit to change our attitudes.”

 This sums it up:

John Midgley, co-founder of the Campaign Against Political Correctness, said: “The police are in effect being overly sensitive to potential criminals and not being sensitive enough to the public at large who need to be protected. These sort of things have a counter-productive effect because they cause huge friction between different communities.”

Did we loan them a few democrats?

Now, this however also makes me laugh:

Caroline Kisko, of the Kennel Club, said: “We would not condone any attempt to make search dogs wear special clothing, which could cause them distress.”

I doubt that a bootee makes the dog “distressed”, particularly when the dog is trained for it.  The right answer is “we won’t do it because it is stupid”.

Speaking of stupid, I then saw this, which actually mirrors events in the past here:

Schoolboys punished with detention for refusing to kneel in class and pray to Allah

Two schoolboys were given detention after refusing to kneel down and ‘pray to Allah’ during a religious education lesson.

Parents were outraged that the two boys from year seven (11 to 12-year-olds) were punished for not wanting to take part in the practical demonstration of how Allah is worshiped.

They said forcing their children to take part in the exercise at Alsager High School, near Stoke-on-Trent - which included wearing Muslim headgear - was a breach of their human rights.

…

Another parent Karen Williams said: “I am absolutely furious my daughter was made to take part in it and I don’t find it acceptable.

“I haven’t got a problem with them teaching my child other religions and a small amount of information doesn’t do any harm.

“But not only did they have to pray, the teacher had gone into the class and made them watch a short film and then said ‘we are now going out to pray to Allah’.

“Then two boys got detention and all the other children missed their refreshment break because of the teacher.

On paper, the class intent seems OK:

“Educating children in the beliefs of different faith is part of the diversity curriculum on the basis that knowledge is essential to understanding.

Exit question though:  Do they make Muslim boys where a yarmulke as they go about learning about Judaism?  Or do they force the Muslim boys to pray the Rosary as they learn Catholicism?

Hardly.  The Muslims would go up in flames.

So whats the point?  Oddly, I found that answer too:

Schools used for ’social engineering’, claims headteacher

A leading headmaster who is leaving one of the most popular schools in the state system to work in the private sector has accused the Government of turning teachers into “social workers and surrogate parents”.

Rod MacKinnon, the head of Bexley Grammar School, south-east London, said schools were being forced to shun traditional lessons as ministers manipulated the education system for the purposes of “social engineering”.

He said schools “cannot solve all of society’s ills” and should be left to teach.

…

“There are those who wish to use children and schools as social engineers with a view to creating a different society but we should not even be trying to do such things,” he said. “Children need to be nurtured, educated and cared for, not thrown into the frontline of social reform. Muddled thinking is guaranteeing failure for the noble aspirations we all commonly hold for the education of the young.

…

“Teachers simply do not have the contact time to ‘create’ behaviours and attitudes within children,” he said. “They are not – and cannot be – social engineers and social workers and surrogate parents, as well as subject teachers, all rolled into one.”

It follows claims this week from Bernice McCabe, the headmistress of the independent North London Collegiate School, that the education system was leading to the “cultural and intellectual impoverishment” of a generation of children as ministers focus on “woolly” goals.

 It makes sense if for some reason Britain really has embarked on a program of inclusion and appeasement.

Not to mention this bit that just came from England, which does not specifically address Muslims, but does fall into line with the principles of these other attempts of feel good do nothing policy (Via Sister Toldjah):

 Well, if you’re a child and you live in the UK, you could be branded as a “racist” for it (h/t: Moonbattery):

 The National Children’s Bureau, which receives £12 million a year, mainly from Government funded organisations, has issued guidance to play leaders and nursery teachers advising them to be alert for racist incidents among youngsters in their care.

This could include a child of as young as three who says “yuk” in response to being served unfamiliar foreign food.

The guidance by the NCB is designed to draw attention to potentially-racist attitudes in youngsters from a young age.

It alerts playgroup leaders that even babies can not be ignored in the drive to root out prejudice as they can “recognise different people in their lives”.

The 366-page guide for staff in charge of pre-school children, called Young Children and Racial Justice, warns: “Racist incidents among children in early years settings tend to be around name-calling, casual thoughtless comments and peer group relationships.”

It advises nursery teachers to be on the alert for childish abuse such as: “blackie”, “Pakis”, “those people” or “they smell”.

The guide goes on to warn that children might also “react negatively to a culinary tradition other than their own by saying ‘yuk’”.

Staff are told: “No racist incident should be ignored. When there is a clear racist incident, it is necessary to be specific in condemning the action.”

Well, if smelling foreign foods and saying “yuk” in response makes one a racist, I’ve been one for a loonnnng time. There are so many foods out there that I’ve turned my nose up at over the years for the smell, some of which actually ended up tasting good (like Greek food, for example) when I tried it later. On the other hand, if I were to send over to the UK a box of cookies and/or cakes that I’d baked up especially for the kiddies, I wouldn’t blame them for screaming “yuk” at the mere sight of them, let alone the smell …

One has to wonder, though, when the kids exclaim “yuk” after they smell British food (ever hear the jokes about how icky Brit food is?), what would that mean?

In all seriousness, this is just one more example of the corrosive, slippery slope nature of nanny-state government in the UK. They’re so busy trying to indoctrinate children with government-approved morally relativistic attitudes towards other cultures that in the process they forget they’re actually supposed to be educating them on the basics: Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic.

All eyes are on Britain and things get gradually “Dhim-er” and dimmer.

  Trackposted to Stop the ACLU, Outside the Beltway, Perri Nelson’s Website, The Virtuous Republic, Maggie’s Notebook, Right Truth, Shadowscope, Stuck On Stupid, Leaning Straight Up, The Amboy Times, Big Dog’s Weblog, Cao’s Blog, Democrat=Socialist, Conservative Cat, Pet’s Garden Blog, third world county, Woman Honor Thyself, McCain Blogs, DragonLady’s World, The World According to Carl, Pirate’s Cove, Blue Star Chronicles, Rosemary’s News and Ideas, The Pink Flamingo, A Newt One, Dumb Ox Daily News, Stageleft, and Right Voices, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.

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